Nancy Kerrigan Speaks Out About Tonya Harding Movie

Nancy Kerrigan, Olympic figure skater, was attacked by her competitor Tonya Harding's then-husband. She had her knee smashed by a metal pipe in an attempt to keep her out of the competition. Kerrigan ultimately won a silver medal that year, while Harding was banned from Olympics all together. The story was almost unbelievable, and many thought it sounded like the plot of a movie.

Andreas Altwein/AP

Apparently, network executives agreed, and almost 25 years after the infamous attack, Tonya Harding's story was being made into a feature film. I, Tonya looked to repaint the Harding/Kerrigan incident as a mistake by a young woman, as opposed to a malicious attempt to take out the competition.

"[Tonya's] looking forward to having her story told sympathetically,"a friend of Harding said. "She knows she’s not a saint, and doesn’t expect to be shown that way. But all she has ever wanted was for people to look beyond the headlines and see that she’s a real person who hasn’t gotten a lot of breaks in life."

Harding has been all over the press circuit for this movie, attending the Golden Globes with Margot Robbie, who is playing her in the film.

People

Many people found Harding's appearance strange, wondering how Nancy Kerrigan must feel about someone involved in attacking her be given the star treatment.

Imagine telling Nancy Kerrigan in 1994 her story would be nominated for “best comedy”

Let’s acknowledge the disgusting irony. Tonight, the #goldenglobes talked about standing up against violence, assault, inequality, etc. BUT Tonya flipping Harding was there and applauded during Allison Janney’s speech?!? I wonder how her VICTIM, Nancy Kerrigan, felt about this.

But now, after staying silent about Harding's new-found fame, Kerrigan has finally spoken out about I, Tonya.

In an interview with The Boston Globe, Kerrigan was respectful, yet honest, when asked about Harding's new movie.

“I really have nothing to say about it. I haven’t seen anything. I haven’t watched anything,” Kerrigan said. “I’ve been busy. I was at the national [figure skating] championships this week so I didn’t watch the Golden Globes. I haven’t seen the movie. I’m just busy living my life.”

Kerrigan's story will be involved in I, Tonya (how can she not be?), but that doesn't mean she's dwelling on it.

“It’s not really part of my life. As you say, I was the victim. Like, that’s my role in this whole thing. That’s it,” Kerrigan told the Globe. “It is weird, that’s for sure. A bizarre thing. The whole thing was crazy, being that it’s a story. I mean, come on.’’

Kerrigan's husband, and agent, Jerry Solomon, released a more formal statement on the matter.

“Our position at this point is to say nothing," he told the Globe. "When we collectively, or Nancy individually, decide what to do, when we are ready to say something, we will. But until that time, we’ve been very consistent — and as you can imagine I’m getting calls from everybody under the sun from all around the world — so just to be consistent we’re really not saying anything at this point.’’

People

Do you think Harding should be celebrated, despite her involvement in Kerrigan's attack?